On New Year’s Eve, rescue workers and police always record more operations than on other nights. This year, however, the helpers have even prepared for large-scale situations in several regions: indications of a terrorist threat to Cologne Cathedral, possible violent riots related to the Middle East conflict and the riots on New Year’s Eve last year in Berlin were the trigger for this. There, police chief Barbara Slowik speaks of one of the largest operations in recent decades.
The security precautions around Cologne Cathedral are particularly strict. The reason is that security authorities had received information about a possible attack plan by an Islamist group. According to the Cologne police, they were referring to New Year’s Eve. A 30-year-old was taken into custody “to avert danger.” The Tajik is suspected of spying on the cathedral.
The man is said to have been at the center of a larger network. This network also includes people in other federal states and other European countries, said Cologne police chief Johannes Hermanns on Sunday. Three more people were arrested on Sunday morning. The attacks took place in Duisburg, Herne and in Nörvenich in the Düren district. Apartments there were also searched. The attack was supposed to have been carried out with a car.
Until the early evening, things were apparently relatively quiet in the country’s control centers. The usual accidents with fireworks at the turn of the year still occurred.
So had in Berlin Shortly before New Year’s Eve, a man lost a hand while setting off a fireworks rocket. The 40-year-old set off the signal rocket on the terrace of a bungalow, the Berlin police said on Sunday. Immediately after it was ignited on Saturday, the rocket exploded in his hand. He was taken to a hospital. Additional pyrotechnics were found on him and confiscated. According to initial findings, the firecracker was a category F4 signal rocket. Such large fireworks displays may only be used by trained pyrotechnicians. It was said that it would now be checked whether the 40-year-old had such a permit. The LKA is investigating.
The Berlin police’s X-Feed initially looked quite normal for a New Year’s Eve. “In Friedrichshain, people from the ground floor throw firecrackers into the inner courtyard. They’re probably illegal firecrackers,” it read. Or “In Moabit, people put fireworks batteries on the street and fire them at cars. Then they go to a store and get supplies.”
A registered pro-Palestinian demonstration in the capital was better attended than initially expected – according to the police, around 2,000 people came instead of 1,000, but the situation appeared calm in the afternoon and the police did not report any special incidents. Palestinian flags could also be seen at the demonstration under the motto “No New Year’s Eve – Solidarity with Palestine”. The organizers used a megaphone to call for people to remain calm. On New Year’s Eve, police banned a planned pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin-Neukölln entitled “No Celebration During Genocide.”
There are two children while handling fireworks Schleswig-Flensburg district injured and a house severely damaged. A 15-year-old suffered serious burn injuries in the accident on Saturday evening in Havetoft, a police spokeswoman said. A ten-year-old girl was slightly injured. The accident caused fire to break out in the attic of the house. The building is currently no longer habitable.
More than 6,000 police officers on duty in North Rhine-Westphalia
After the terrorist alarm for the Cologne cathedral and experiences from last year, the police in North Rhine-Westphalia were also preparing for a major operation. According to the Interior Ministry, the number of emergency services has been increased again compared to the previous year. A total of more than 6,600 police officers are planned, said Minister Herbert Reul (CDU). Last New Year’s Eve 2022/23 there were several NRW cities Firecrackers and rockets were fired specifically at police officers and rescue workers. At the time, Reul spoke of a “new dimension of aggressiveness”.
With material from the dpa agency